Irrational Games Effectively Closes Its Doors

Irrational Games, the creators of one of the most influential series of videogames in the last ten years, BioShock, have made the huge decision to reduce their staff down to “about fifteen members“, according to Creative Director and Co-Founder Ken Levine. The news comes from an announcement made by Levine on the Irrational Games website where he goes on to say that he will be starting a smaller group focused on creating “narrative-driven games for the core gamer that are highly replayable. To foster the most direct relationship with our fans possible, we will focus exclusively on content delivered digitally.”

Whether or not this will be worth the dramatic dismissal of the vast majority of Irrational employees is yet to be seen, but Levine assures us that the remaining team will “make sure that the people who are leaving have as much support as we can give them during this transition.“

The last project that Irrational Games are confirmed to be involved in is the final DLC for BioShockInfinite, Burial at Sea – Episode 2, which is to be released on the 25th March across the globe and sees the player take control of Elizabeth as she walks the dangerous line between Universes in the incredible underwater world of Rapture. As for the fate of BioShock as a series, Levine confirmed that he was “handing the reins of our creation, the BioShock universe, to 2K so our new venture can focus entirely on replayable narrative,” which means that the acclaimed series is sure to see new developments and releases in the future whilst Levine and the remnants of Irrational Games move on to other new projects.

It is not clear exactly if Irrational Games will be closing its doors entirely to make way for a new company, or if Levine and co. will remain to operate under the name. What is clear is that Irrational Games as we know it has left a timeless and wonderful legacy for gamers to enjoy, as well as two of the coolest game settings in history.